The Mavericks go into Game 5 tonight against San Antonio with a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-7series. One more win and they advance to the conference semifinals for the first time since 2006.

They have three chances to get it done. But that's a fool's way of looking at it.

"We can't think like that," center Erick Dampier said Monday. "We got an opportunity to end the series. They're going to put up a fight. We're going to put up a fight.

"We know it's going to take a hard defensive effort on those guys. It's potentially their last game of the season. They've been in this position before. Tim [Duncan] has four rings. We don't want to let this linger."

If they do, nothing good can happen, other than an extra home game for owner Mark Cuban, which he probably would be fine without.

The longer the series goes, the more chance for fluke injuries, physical wear and tear and mental tolls.

Never underestimate that last issue. The Mavericks have worked hard to earn the hammer in this series.

"This is a situation where you've got to win one game," said Jason Terry. "That's all. We're asking for one all-out effort, one good performance and move on."

Coach Rick Carlisle carefully avoids the subject. He is only interested in his team continuing to play as hard as it has in the first four games and as efficiently. But he knows what can happen in a long series. There have been eight teams in NBA history who have overcome 3-1 deficits in the playoffs. And in every case, the team with the big lead thought it had the series in the bag. That mentality, even for one game, can change a series.

The Mavericks know that even one quarter - see the 2006 NBA Finals - can alter the complexion of a series.

"Playoffs are physically and emotionally taxing," Carlisle said. "When your season's on the line, you play desperate. We've had a lot of games like that down the stretch, when our playoff lives were on the line. We know how it feels. And that's how they'll come out."

Winning the clincher is normally the toughest game in any series. The Spurs have been humbled by the way the series has unfolded. There is little doubt they will leave nothing on the table tonight.

The Mavericks have to play the same way or run the risk of coming back for Game 6 on Friday with all the pressure on them to avoid a return to San Antonio for a Game 7.

"I don't think we want to think that way or talk that way," Dirk Nowitzki said. "To us, it's the next game that we got to play well again. We stole one down there and why shouldn't we do it again? That's got to be our mind-set."